There are “no politicial directives” issued to detain the editors of news portal The Malaysian Insider ( TMI ), says Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today.

In fact, Zahid said the authorities gave full trust to the police to conduct their investigations, including interrogation, as this is within the standard operating procedure (SOP).

“There are no political directives to the arrest and detention by the police. My style is that we empower the heads of department, including the police chief (to do their job).

“Their actions are based on the Act and jurisdiction given to them,” he said in a press conference in Seri Kembangan today.

He told this to reporters when asked on the raid and detention of four TMI editors and Ho Kay Tat, group CEO of The Edge Media Group which owns the news portal.

[More to follow]